Car-coupling



No. 623,902. Patented Apr. 25, I899. B. S. HART &. W. PADGETT.

RUBIN SYLVESTER HART AND WILLIAM PADGETT, OF BROOKLYN,

ALABAMA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 623,902, dated April25, 1899. Application filed September 23,1898. Serial No. 691,784. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, RUBIN SYLVESTER HART and WILLIAM PADGETT, citizensof the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Conecuh andState of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Iniprovements inCar-Couplers; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to car-couplers; and it consists in theconstruction and arrangement of the several parts, which will be morefully hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective meansfor coupling cars either while moving,on on r es, or to accommodatevariations in the height or elevation of opposing draw-heads and withoutrequiring an operator to pass between the cars, with the evidentadvantages accruing from such prevention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of aportion of a car end, showing the improved coupling device appliedthereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of two opposing draw-heads,illustrating the manner of operating the coupling in full and dottedlines. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the improved couplingdevice.

Referring to the drawings, wherein similar numerals are employed toindicate corresponding parts in the several views, the nu-- meral 1designates a car of any preferred form of construction and having adraw-head 2, which in the present instance is utilized as a bumper andhas a sliding movement and in the front portion an attaching-pin 3,which stands vertically and is secured by a lower threaded end and nutthereon. The upper end of the pin, which stands above the drawhead, islooped, as at 4, to give additional strength and resistance to thestrain, and where the free end of the said loop engages the draw-head arecess 5 is constructed, which prevents movement of said pin after ithas been tightened. Secured to the car just above the draw-head is atransversely-extending spring-plate 6, which is secured at one end onlyand stands outwardly at the free end to have free resilient movement orvibration when opposing draw-heads come together and institute a shockor jar. To the opposite sides of the draw-head, a predetermined distancein rear of the outer end there0f,the rear looped ends 7 of acoupling-link 8 are pivotally attached. This coupling-link is longenough to drop over the end of the draw-head and to reach a suitabledistance beyond the same to engage a pin in the opposing draw-headsimilar to that described. The spring-plate 6 yieldingly supports thecoupling-link when the latter is raised preparatory to the automaticcoupling operation.

In operation the couplinglink 8 is first raised and rested against thespring-plate 5. The draw-head of the approaching car or the car beingapproached is struck by the drawhead of the car having the link set, asspecilied, and the shock or jar incident to the meeting of the twodraw-heads and also the movement of the latter throws the couplinglinkdownward and over the pin on the opposing draw-head. The link of theopposing draw-head not being used is permitted to drop beneath and outof the way. The link Sis long enough to compensate for the movements ofthe cars and is heavy enough to continually raise upon the top of thedraw-head and resist ordinary movements or shocks that would tend toaccidentally uncouple it. The pin in the draw-head is made long enoughto prevent accidental disengagement of the link under any circumstance,and, furthermore, cars having draw-heads of varying elevation can beeasily connected with safety and convenience. Furthermore, curvemovements or sways of cars are accommodated by the link specified, andordinary cars can also be coupled up to the car carrying the improvedcoupling-pin.

The present form of coupler is particularly useful in making flyingswitches or in rapid shifting, and many other advantages will appearfrom time to time to those using the same that have not been enumerated.

Changes in the proportions,dimensions,and

minor details of construction might be resorted to without in the leastdeparting from the nature or spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- In acar-coupler, the combination with a sliding draw-head having a centralrecess in the upper side near the outer end, of a pin on the upper frontpart thereof having a rearwardly-inelined portion directly connected tosaid draw-head and bent over forwardly and downwardly therefrom and thefree end held in said recess, a coupling-link having the rear endspivotally attached to opposite sides of the draw-head and long enough todrop over the front end of the lat-

